Lords of Shadow

MercurySteam is full of surprises. Believe it or not, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was the most successful entry in the series of all time. The developer’s first stab at Konami’s beloved franchise sold better than any other iteration in its history. I always assumed it was another critically successful title like Symphony of the Night.

To follow that up, the team of about 60 people decided to bring a sequel to handhelds. But Producer Dave Cox said they faced a dilemma. What platform should they put it on? He said the team made early versions of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow — Mirror of Fate on both the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS. They took a look at both and decided, according to Cox, that the game was more compelling on Nintendo’s system.

It was the 3-D that did it, he said, and after playing Mirror of Fate on the handheld, I can see how that feature along with the bigger install base can influence the small developer. The game does pop with an unusual, cel-shaded art style that looks almost graphic novel and MercurySteam does take advantage of the layers of 3-D. This Belmont adventure seems to be a title that was meant to be played with that feature.